Daphnee Hui Lin LEE is a sociologist and researcher in education. She is Assistant Professor at the Department of Education Policy and Leadership, The Education University of Hong Kong. Daphnee is on a research journey to understand how professional identities are shaped by change, and how professionals develop strategies to empower themselves in the face of change. Recently, Daphnee is focused on how teacher professionals collaborate to develop strategies to improve teaching and learning through professional learning communities. She is interested in examining collaborative relationships in teacher professional development within the social context of Chinese school systems. A fundamental question that Daphnee is currently grappling with is: Can teacher leadership emerge from contexts that share the common foundations of centralized education policies and alignment with authoritative opinion leaders? Specifically, can collaborative relationships empower the everyday classroom teacher to initiate change, if s/he possesses the conviction to improve the learning of students, but does not have the authority of formally appointed leaders? In her recent book on Managing Chineseness (Palgrave Macmillan, UK, 2017), Daphnee examines the theoretical implications Chinese professional identities through the concept of identity grafting. Identity grafting is the result work supported by two research grants she undertook as Principal Investigator on Professional Learning Communities, and Teacher Professional Identity when she was a Research Scientist at the National Institute of Education (Singapore), Nanyang Technological University. Her Ph.D. work at the Australian National University laid the foundations to the sociological explanation of empirical work on the way identities are constructed and exercised, linking individual, social, and organizational experiences to global reforms and movements.

Research Interests

Teacher Professional Identity, Professional Learning Communities, and Professionalism

Sociology of Education

Political economy and Broader Context of Education

Professional identity and professionalism

Collaboration in professional learning communities

Research Methods

1. 2014- Research Convenor, Teacher Learning and Professional Development task force, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

2. 2014 - Member, International Comparative Studies task force, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.